Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
DOWNLOADS
VIEWS
33
52
2 AUTHORS, INCLUDING:
G M Sadiqul Islam
Chittagong University of Engineerin
6 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Abstract: Corrosion of rebars in concrete is a key mechanism which determines the durability
and service life of concrete structure. Half-cell potential of rebars in concrete subjected to a NaCl
solution of 10% in the concentration has been monitored using embedded reference electrode in
the concrete and computer operated automatic data acquisition system. A portable corrosion
meter was also employed to measure half-cell potential and AC impedance. Initiation of
corrosion in rebars were estimated by the former system and verified by the later. Corrosion
initiation period was found to be from as early as 119 days and up to 360 days of chloride
application depending on the characteristics of test specimens. Upon successful detection of
corrosion initiation threshold chloride concentration for corrosion initiation was estimated. The
estimated chloride threshold level for deformed rebar was found almost half of that with ideal
plain steel rebar. Corrosion was spread over rebars depending on its surface characteristics.
Keywords : Half-Cell Potential; Embedded Reference Electrode; Portable Corrosion Meter; AC
Impedance; Corrosion.
1.0
Introduction
187
compositions (Masi et al., 1997; Bertolini et al., 2004). Several researches also
reported chloride threshold concentration for corrosion initiation of rebars in
concrete in various environmental conditions (Xua and Wand, 2009; Manera et
al., 2008). The first attempt to measure CTL was using a synthetic concrete pore
solution with a [Cl-]:[OH-] ratio of 0.6 using half cell potential as a tool for
corrosion detection (Hausmann, 1967). Later other electrochemical tools were
used for CTL measurement e.g. polarization (Yonesawa et al., 1988; Alonso et
al., 2002), macrocell current (Hansson and Sorensen, 1990; Schiessl and
Raupach, 1990), AC impedance (Hope and Ip, 1989). An extensive experimental
work was carried out on different concrete in marine environment and CTL
values are calculated from mass loss of rebars (Thomas, 1996). Chloride attack
in the existing real concrete structures also studied (Vassie, 1984). Due to the
variation in test procedure and exposure condition, all the reported CTL values
varied in a wider range. Also none of the reported values are obtained from a real
time corrosion monitoring system. Despite of wider range of reported values,
most of the current design codes are using conservative values to ensure safety
and serviceability of concrete structures throughout the whole service life.
To date the research field on corrosion of rebars in concrete lacks on reliable
method for the detection of corrosion initiation of rebars in concrete. A method
using embedded lead reference electrode inside concrete for detection of
corrosion initiation of rebars in concrete has been proposed recently (Horiguchi
et al., 2006; 2007). The lead reference electrode monitors the half-cell potential
of steel reinforcement inside the concrete. Corrosion initiation is predicted from
the sharp fall of half-cell potential to a considerable negative value. However it
is need to verify the effectiveness of this system to use in corrosion research in
terms of other electrochemical parameters (e.g. corrosion current) and extent of
detection level. Furthermore, in recent years durability of reinforced concrete is
proposed to consider as a performance based approach. It is demanded to
consider the concrete mix proportions for CTL measurement. Earlier research
with synthetic pore solution also pointed that the initiation of corrosion occurs
followed by increase in chloride concentration and consequent drop in alkalinity
adjacent to rebars (Mammoliti et al., 1996). Kayyali and Haque (1988) attempted
to correlate Cl- and OH- for corrosion of rebar from pore solution analysis of
cement paste.
This research principally aimed to establish a test method to point out the
initiation of corrosion of rebars in concrete reliably. A combination of two
different systems is proposed to detect the corrosion initiation and its rate
estimation. Thereafter, chloride threshold level was determined for two different
mixes proportioned Ordinary Portland Concrete (OPC). In connection with this
the Ca(OH)2 was quantified at the vicinity of rebars using a Thermo-
188
Experimental Program
2.1
Two types of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete (N2 and N1) were used
in this study. Details of mix proportions and concrete properties are given in
Table 1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) of density 3.16 g/cm3 was used to
prepare the specimens. The coarse aggregate was crushed stone with a maximum
size of 13 mm. Chloride free sand collected from Mukawa River, Japan was used
as fine aggregate. Absorption and specific gravity of coarse and fine aggregate
were 1.62% & 2.85% and 2.68 g/cm3 & 2.61 g/cm3 respectively. Fineness
moduli of coarse and fine aggregate were 6.10 and 2.68 respectively.
Table 1 : Mix proportions and properties of concrete
Type
N1
N2
Gmax1
Target
Slump
mm
mm
Targe
t
Air
%
W/C
s/a2
W3
C4
S5
G6
Chemical
admixtures
AE1a AE2b
g/m3 g/m3
65
46
161 248 879 1028 2.48 8.67
50
43
162 324 793 1047 3.24 11.34
1
2
Maximum coarse aggregate size, Sand aggregate ratio, 3Water, 4Cement, 5Sand, 6Gravel, aAE1:
Pozzolith 78S (Water reducer), bAE2: Micro air 785
13
12015
50.5
189
(a)
(b)
Figure 1 : (a) Details of corrosion monitoring system; (b) Cross-section of test specimen
Table 2 : Corrosion test specimen configuration
Specimen series
No of specimen
Contents
Remark
N1P
N2P
3
3
3
5
Plain bar
Plain bar
Deformed bar
Plain bar & RE1
W/C = 65%
N2D
N2PS
1
Reference electrode
W/C = 50%
190
Measurement
2.3.1
191
was cleaned carefully except the corrosion initiated zone. A transparent type
marking tape of width 50 mm was wrapped carefully on the circumferential
surface of corroded rebars. Then using a fine tip permanent black marker pen
corrosion area was sketched carefully. The tape was detached from the rebar
surface and associated carefully on a thick white paper. An image of this paper
has been produced by scanning the paper. Computer image analysis software
(Image J) has been used to quantify the corrosion area.
2.3.3
3.0
192
Slump (mm)
N1
N2
105
130
5.5
5.3
193
1UP
2UP
3UP
4UP
5UP
1DO
2DO
3DO
4DO
5DO
-150
-250
278 Days (4UP)
-450
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
194
chloride application period when half-cell potential dropped below the threshold
half-cell potential and the last measurement time when no significant drop in
half-cell potential was observe. Corrosion current was estimated from the
obtained cole-cole plot of AC impedance spectroscope. Half-cell potential,
corrosion current and corrosion initiation period are summarized in Table 4.
The corrosion monitoring system detected corrosion in specimens 1 and 5 of
N2PS series at a comparatively early age. Corrosion current at UM position of
specimen 1 and 5 were found 0.123 A/cm2 and 0.057 A/cm2 respectively
which are considerably higher than the other samples of the same series at the
stage of initiation. One possible cause could be the presence of various sized air
voids which were found in the concrete and rebar interface of these two
specimens as shown in Figure 3. During casting of concrete against a steel bar, a
dense continuous cement rich layer containing rich precipitation of calcium
hydroxide is postulate to be formed at the steelconcrete interface (Page, 1975).
This layer restricts the tendency for a decrease in pH at anodic areas and also
reduces the mobility of chloride ions (Page and Treadaway, 1982).
Table 4 : Half-cell potential (Ecorr), corrosion current (Icorr) and corrosion initiation period
Series
N2PS
N2P
N2D
N1P
Specimen
name
N2PS1
N2PS2
N2PS3
N2PS4
N2PS5
N2P1
N2P2
N2P3
N2D1
N2D2
N2D3
N1P1
N1P2
N1P3
* No corrosion initiation.
Estimated
corrosion
initiation time
(Days)
179
359
360
277
164
191
298
251
119
119
119
119
119
119
UM
position
-488
-381
-349
-415
-510
-477
-512
-202
-467
-504
-608
-572
-524
-579
UM
position
0.123
0.022
0.007
0.002
0.057
0.036
0.938
0.068
0.152
0.155
0.207
0.287
0.179
0.382
DM
position
-253
-164
-410
-249
-257
-218
-239
-465
-227
-223
-555
-268
-534
-589
DM
position
*
*
0.016
*
*
*
*
0.096
*
*
0.089
*
0.168
0.241
195
Corrosion initiates from the weakest surface, often presents in terms of air voids.
Interface of those two specimens contained air voids, the specific zone was
lacking from sufficient alkalinity required to resist corrosion initiation. Also
accelerated corrosion rate was found at initiation due to this phenomenon.
Lowest corrosion current estimated by the system among the test specimens is at
UM position of N2PS4 sample was 0.002 A/cm2.
Due to having a sound interface (see Figure 3) corrosion initiation was with
the lowest corrosion current and after a considerable period of chloride
application compared to the other two specimens discussed earlier. The above
discussion also supports the initiation of corrosion in specimen 2 and 3 at longer
time with lower corrosion current. A sound and dense interface were found for
these specimens also. Figure 3 also shows an example of clear corrosion
initiation in the UM position while the DM position of rebars remains intact.
UM
N2PS1UM
N2PS5UM
N2PS4UM
DM
N2PS2
Figure 3 : Rebar and concrete interface of N2PS1, N2PS5 and N2PS4 and corrosion N2PS2
196
(a)
(b)
Also the presence of weaker and uneven interfacial zone probably resulted
corrosion initiation in N2D specimens earlier. Studies carried out with deformed
bars also postulated higher corrosion rate in deformed rebars compared to plain
steel bars (Mohammed et al., 1999).
From the above discussion it is clearly understandable that corrosion initiation
detected in N2PS series of specimens with lead reference electrode at lowest
possible corrosion current (rate) and area of corrosion. Also the accuracy of
corrosion initiation detection affects the reliability of test results as after
corrosion initiation it accelerates rapidly.
3.4. Chloride threshold level
The obtained chloride profile gives chloride concentration at different depth at
the estimated corrosion initiation time. As mentioned earlier corrosion was
initiated at UP position in some of the specimens and both UM and DM position
197
was corroded in other specimens. The chloride threshold value was estimated as
chloride concentration at 20 mm depth if UM position confirms initiation of
corrosion only and at 25 mm depth if both the bars confirm corrosion. Summary
of chloride analysis for different series of specimens is presented in Table 5.
Although same N2 type concrete was used for N2P, N2PS and N2D series of
specimens, the chloride threshold level was found almost half for N2D series
compared to other two. Earlier studies also indicated that deformed bars starts
corrosion with lower chloride concentration and once corrosion starts the
propagation rate also higher for deformed rebars (Mohammed et al., 1999,
Hansson and Srensen, 1990; Poursaee and Hansson, 2009).
Table 5. Estimated diffusion coefficient, Surface Cl- concentration and CTL
Type
Diffusion
coefficient
(cm2/yr)
Surface Clconcentration
(kg/m3)
Avg
Max
(kg/m3)
% mass of cement
content (average)
N1P
5.79
21.1
4.7
4.7
4.8
1.9
N2P
2.27
22.6
3.7
5.0
6.6
1.5
N2PS
N2D
3.10
22.1
1.0
2.3
4.1
0.7
Note: An average of all parameters of N2P and N2PS are presented as the concrete mix
proportion is same.
The obtained chloride threshold levels are higher than that could be found in
current design codes. Particularly this study aimed to determine chloride
threshold level precisely at the stage of initiation focusing on concrete mix
proportion and rebars surface finishing. The chloride threshold level also
depends on the method used for corrosion initiation detection. Other parameters
influencing chloride threshold level (e.g. moisture content, temperature
fluctuation, influence of other ions present in sea water, rebars surface finish,
laboratory test specimens/real concrete structure) were not taken into
consideration. This may be probable cause of higher value obtained for CTL.
3.5. Influence of Ca(OH)2 content on corrosion initiation
198
Figure 5 shows the DTA graph of one N1 type sample and two N2 type sample
and CH content of five concrete samples. An average CH content was found
1.08% and 1.86% for N1 and N2 type concrete respectively.
(a)
(b)
4.0
Conclusion
199
200
Whiting D. (Eds.) Corrosion Rates of Steel in Concrete, ASTM STP 1065, 316.
Hausmann, D.A. (1967) Steel corrosion in concrete; How does it occur? Materials and
Protection, 6: 1923.
Hope, B.B. and Ip, A.K.C. (1989) Corrosion inhibitors for use in concrete, ACI Material
Journal, 86: 602608.
Horiguchi, K., Maruya, T. and Takewaka, K. (2006) Estimation of initiation stage for
corrosion by half-cell potential and chloride threshold value, Proceedings of JCI 28:
1007-1012 (In Japanese).
Horiguchi, K., Maruya, T. and Takewaka, K. (2007) An effect of mix proportion on
chloride threshold value, Proceedings of JCI, 29: 1377-1382 (In Japanese).
Hussain, S.E., AlGahtani, A.S. and Rasheeduzzafar (1996) Chloride threshold for
corrosion of reinforcement in concrete, ACI Materials Journal, 93: 534-538.
Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) (2003) Methods of test for chloride ion content in
hardened concrete, JIS A 1154, 472-482, Japan (In Japanese).
Kayyali O.A. and Haque M.N. (1988) Chloride penetration and the ratio of C /OH in
the pores of cement paste, Cement and Concrete Research, 18: 895-900.
Mammoliti, L.T., Brown, L.C., Hansson, C.M. and Hope, B.B. (1996) The influence of
surface finish of reinforcing steel and ph of the test solution on the chloride
threshold concentration for corrosion initiation in synthetic pore solutions, Cement
and Concrete Research, 26: 545-550.
Manera, M., Vennesland, . and Bertolini, L. (2008) Chloride threshold for rebar
corrosion in concrete with addition of silica fume, Corrosion Science, 50: 554-560.
Masi, M., Colella, D., Radaelli, G. and Bertolini, L. (1997) Simulation of chloride
penetration in cement-based materials, Cement and Concrete Research, 27: 15911601.
Mohammed, T. U., Otsuki, N. and Hisada, M. (1999) Corrosion of steel bars with
respect to orientation in concrete, ACI Materials Journal, 96:154-160.
Montemor, M.F., Alves, J.H., Simes, A.M., Fernandes, J.C.S., Loureno, Z., Costa,
A.J.S., Appleton, A.J. and Ferreira, M.G.S. (2006) Multiprobe chloride sensor for in
situ monitoring of reinforced concrete structures, Cement and Concrete Composites,
28: 233-236.
Page, C.L. (1975) Mechanism of corrosion protection in reinforced concrete marine
structure, Letters to Nature, 258: 514-515.
Page, C.L. and Treadaway, K.W.J. (1982) Aspects of the electrochemistry of steel in
concrete, Nature, 297:109-115.
Poursaee, A. and Hansson, C.M. (2009) Potential pitfalls in assessing chloride-induced
corrosion of steel in concrete, Cement and Concrete Research, 39: 391-400.
Schiessl, P. and Raupach, M. (1990) Influence of concrete composition and
microclimate on the critical chloride content in concrete, In Page, C.L., Treadaway,
K.W.J. and Bamforth, P.B. (eds.), Corrosion of Reinforcement in Concrete, Elsevier
Applied Science, London, 49-58.
Sorn, V., Oshiro, T., Yamada, Y., Sugiyama, T. and Matsufuji, Y. (2001) Performance
of fly ash concrete in accelerated and natural chloride exposure regimes,
Proceedings of The Seventh CANMET / ACI International Conference on Fly Ash,
201
Silica Fume, Slag, and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete, Malhotra V.M. (eds.),
Madras, India, 185-204, .
Thomas, M. (1996) Chloride thresholds in marine concrete, Cement and Concrete
Research, 26: 513519.
Tuutti, K. (1982) Corrosion of steel in concrete, Swedish Cement and Concrete
Research Institute, Sweden, Stockholm, 486p.
Vassie, P. (1984) Reinforcement corrosion and the durability of concrete bridges,
Proceeding of Institution of Civil Engineers, 76: 713723.
Xua, J, Jiang, L. and Wang, J. (2009) Influence of detection methods on chloride
threshold value for the corrosion of steel reinforcement, Construction and Building
Materials, 23: 1902-1908.
Yokota M. (1998) Study on corrosion monitoring of reinforcing steel bars in 36-year old
actual concrete structures, Translation from proceedings of JCI, 20, (concrete
library of JSCE 33, 1999, 155-164).
Yonesawa, T., Ashworth, V. and Procter, R. P. M. (1988) Pore solution composition and
chloride effects on the corrosion of steel in concrete, Corrosion, 44: 489-499.